


Down on the Farm

by brokenwings (jazzysauce)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Laura is Clints sister, clint and laura centric, still salty at age of ultron
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 22:26:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18860356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzysauce/pseuds/brokenwings
Summary: If Laura was Clint Barton's sister...A different story behind the farm house in Age of Ultron. Centers on their relationship as siblings. Title subject to change, it was spur of the moment.





	Down on the Farm

**Author's Note:**

> I found this already written from who knows how long ago, and always enjoy going back and reading through it. Figured it was about time I post it. More chapters probable, not guaranteed. I may also update this chapter, add more in some places. Honestly who knows.
> 
> My notes I found written with this: I don't like the Clint/Laura ship. I just don't. Sorry, I guess. If you do like it, that is. I just feel like Clint is the kind of person to worry unnecessarily about his family's safety, so he wouldn't even start. But, if it was something else... Maybe something that happened years ago, that he didn't have any say in... And that's where the idea that Laura is actually Clint's sister came from.  
> This is kind of a one-shot, more of an outline than anything else really. I'd like to add more, with the other Avengers mostly, if/when I come up with it, so this could be finished, and it could just as easily not be finished. Be prepared for anything to happen. Except romance. No romance.

When the Bartons were sent to the orphanage, it was difficult. Clint and Barney were stiff, guarded, and tried their hardest to keep little Laura away from the meanness all around them. It wasn't hard, she found good people fast. Then, one day, Barney came back from school (not home, never home, not this place) with an opportunity, an escape. The circus was in town.

"We could join," Barney said earnestly. Clint knew his brother was smart and clever, and nodded in agreement, trusting his older brother. "I know we're young and don't have an act, but we could clean for them. We could get out!"

Clint paused in thought. "What about Laura?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. He was always protective of Laura and made sure to consider her in every decision they made, especially now that their parents were dead (drunk, accident, tree, no pain). "She can't come with us, she's only four."

Barney thought for a bit. "You know, you're right. She's young," he grinned, "she has a chance to start over. Everyone will want to adopt sweet little Laura."

Clint didn't like it, but Barney knew best, and Clint knew that. He nodded slowly, frowning, and they started planning. Before they left, Clint pulled Laura aside and promised her he'd be back, eventually.

~Ten years later~

When nineteen year old Clint leaves the circus, the first thing he does is look for Laura. He goes to the old orphanage, asks if they still have files for like ten years ago on any of the Bartons, and finds out where Laura went. He immediately goes to the farm. Of course, Laura doesn't know him, so she asks who he is.

"Clint Barton," he responds immediately.

It sounds familiar to Laura, though for the life of her, she can't say why. "Barton..." she mutters thoughtfully. "Have we met before? Maybe you have a younger brother or something-"

"No," he cuts her off gently, "but I do have a sister."

Laura thought again. She shook her head thoughtfully. "I don't-"

"Her name is Laura," Clint said with a soft smile.

Laura Barton, she thought, and then it hit her. That was her name. No wonder it sounded familiar. She had forgotten over the years, since taking on her adoptive parents' name. This was her older brother, Clint. But there was something else- "Barney. What about Barney?" Sometime throughout the conversation, her parents came up to her and stood behind her, her dad clasping a hand on her shoulder in support.

Clint's face became troubled. "Barney-" he started. His mouth kept moving, but it seemed he couldn't find the words to say what he had to say.

"Let's take this inside," her mom suggested gently, causing the older Barton to jump slightly. He looked at her parents, almost sadly, then nodded, following them inside and to the living room. Once he's seated, he jumps into his explanation, starting about ten years earlier. He explains about how when their parents died, the three went to the orphanage together. Laura fit in immediately, making friends with almost everyone, but both Clint and Barney felt uncomfortable, claustrophobic almost. Every parent looking to adopt was suspicious, on account of they were an adult. Neither had had good experiences with adults in the past. So Barney came to Clint one day, with the idea of running away to the circus near town. He talked about how they stayed in as maintenance boys, cleaning cages mostly, and then how he got an act shooting a bow and arrows. About how Barney got jealous, and he and Swordsman cornered Clint, trying to get him to help them in their grand scheme for money.

"When I refused," Clint said, lowering his head in shame, guilt, and mostly, confusion, "he- Barn, he tried to kill me." Laura's parents gasped in horror. Laura could see a tear, carving a slow path down Clint's... her brother's slightly rough face, even with the way he tried to hide it. She immediately got up from her spot in between her parents and plopped herself down next to Clint, curling up against him. He looked over after jumping slightly, not having expected the sudden contact, and allowed a grateful, watery smile to spread on his face. He went on, sniffling slightly. "I- I had a knife on me- and I just reacted- and-" he stopped, unable to continue, and pulled his feet up, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face into his knees. Laura leaned up against him more heavily, reminding him that she was still there, and he turned his head on his knees so he was looking at her, ear still pressed down.

"It was self-defense, right?" she asked. Clint nodded mutely. It looked strange, when his head was sideways like that. "Then it's okay. Besides, would he have come to find me like you did?" Laura nudged his shoulder playfully, smiling. Clint raised his head the slightest bit. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Clint, you didn't want it to happen. Barney did, so if anyone's to blame, it's him."

Clint sat up the rest of the way, gaping at her wisdom. "Thank you," he finally said, and suddenly pulled his little sister- god, how he had missed saying that- into a crushing hug, which she eagerly returned. Laura's parents insisted that Clint stay with them, so that she could reconnect with her family, they said, but since Clint was a legal adult, he insisted that he work the price of taking care of him off. The next morning, he went out with Mr. Walsh ("Please, Clint. It's Jason.") to the farm, to learn how to take care of their animals. He learned quickly, and within a week, he was doing it all by himself. Clint worked hard, and when he wasn't in the barn or teasing Laura, he was practicing on the targets he had set up (with permission from the Walshes, of course). When the Walshes offered to pay for him to go to college, he refused politely, explaining that he never got an education past fourth grade. "The circus doesn't usually attract teachers," he had joked weakly. Over the years that he stayed with them, the Walshes and Laura got to know Clint's scathing sense of humor and dry sarcasm, his witty remarks that never seemed to run out.

Everything changed when the Walshes died.

It happened eight years after Clint joined the family. Laura had just finished college, and everyone attended her graduation ceremony. After, Clint and Laura decided to go out and have some fun to celebrate, while the Walshes would go straight home. The Bartons (Laura had changed her last name again legally, wanting to never forget who she was again) stayed out late, well past midnight, just drinking (soda for both of them, Clint because the smell of alcohol reminded him of their dad, Laura because she just didn't like the taste of it) and talking and singing karaoke. By the time they got home, it was almost two in the morning, and there was a cop car parked near the house.

Clint immediately slammed on the brakes of his beat up old jeep and practically threw himself out when he realized the Walshes' car wasn't where it usually was parked. Laura was right behind him as they raced to the door, Clint throwing it open. "Mom?" Laura yelled, wrestling her way past Clint to get inside. "Dad?" She ran through every room of the somewhat large farm house, calling for her parents every so often, getting more hysterical each time. Clint just stood in the doorway. The Walshes should definitely be home by now. If they decided to stop somewhere, or even got stuck in traffic, they would've called. Clint pulled out his phone desperately, checking for any missed calls, but the only thing that greeted him from his dinky phone screen was the background, a picture of him and Laura down at his archery range. Laura was practicing, she wasn't very good, but she insisted on trying often, and Clint's grinning face was in the bottom left corner.

"You live here?" a voice asked, startling Clint out of his thoughts.

He quickly shoved his phone into his pocket as he turned to face the police officer that had approached him. He swallowed. "Yessir," he answered anxiously.

Laura once again pushed past him, apparently finished with her search of the house. "Where are they?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "Where are my parents?"

"The Walshes were hit by a drunk driver." A gasp, from Laura, followed by a barely audible "No." "They died on impact."

Clint was frozen. It was happening all over again. The same police officer, too, he was sure. They would be shipped off to an orphanage again, he'd have to leave Laura again, he'd- The sounds of Laura's sobs broke him out of his shock and he immediately hugged Laura, clutching her closer to his chest. He wouldn't let it happen again. He distantly remembered the police officer, and looked up to choke out, "Thank you for telling us, sir," before burying his head into Laura's hair. The door clicked shut and an engine started outside before driving away. Clint picked up his sister easily (she was rather lithe, even though she was as tall as him, and with the muscles he had built shooting his bow, well) and brought them over to the couch in the living room. They spent the night there, Laura flopped over the couch, Clint taking up the space right in front of the couch on the floor. Guarding her. Protecting her.

The next morning, Clint woke up first, sore all over. Man, next time he slept on the floor, he was getting a blanket, or a pillow, or something. He left a note for Laura to meet him outside when she woke up, and went to take care of the animals. Normalcy was good. It numbed him. Just as he was moving out to the chicken coop to let them out for the day, Laura came shuffling over. They both stopped, just looking at each other for a few seconds, then, wordlessly, Clint opened his arms. Laura ran into them, tears streaming down her face, head buried in his chest. Tears were good, he thought, tears were healthy. He sighed. Tears were normal. He couldn't bring himself to cry. He hadn't cried since he killed Barney. It was almost like the ability to cry was taken away from him.

They decided to keep the farm, staying on it together. It was a nice piece of land, quiet and away from civilization. Just what they needed. Clint knew that the house would destroy his sister, with memories, so he told her that he'd remodel the place. He had gotten quite good at fixing any problems in the barn with a hammer and some wood, so he decided to make it a sort of project. They also agreed that they would keep the animals. And they decided that they would adopt a few kids. Give them a home and make the place seem less empty at the same time.

They adopted a two year old, Cooper. His parents neglected him, up until the moment they just left him to go on vacation. If the neighbors hadn't heard a baby crying, he might have died. Clint heard about his situation and was adamant that they bring him home. He wanted to be able to give the kid a better life than he had.

Soon after, Agent Phil Coulson from the Strategic Homeland something or other maybe knocked on their front door. The Bartons looked at each other. Nobody would come knocking, not without them inviting them first. But... Clint approached the door curiously. He opened it just as the man was about to knock again. That day, he joined SHIELD, on the condition that anything related to his farm, his sister, or Cooper was wiped out of the system.

Clint always came home from time to time, at least once a month, sometimes for as long as a week. He always called Laura before he left on missions and after he returned from them, and when they were solo missions, during the mission. That's how Laura knew that he was going after the famed Black Widow, only two years after he had joined SHIELD. She knew that he was getting good in the business, but she hadn't realized he was that good until she received the call. There was the usual exchange, "Stay safe," "I will," but it seemed more final somehow. Laura hung up the phone expecting to never hear from her brother again. So she was doubly surprised when he called a week later, saying that he had somehow recruited the Black Widow (whose name was Natasha Romanov) and that she would be his partner from now on, as he was to "take full responsibility of Agent Romanov and her actions. If she messes up, you face the consequences with her." Then he went on to complain that Coulson had taken his bow away and restricted his access to the range for a full week, causing Laura to laugh.

The next year, when Clint came bursting in panting with a red headed woman following him, she almost shot him. She had just put Cooper to bed, and was preparing to go to bed herself when the door slammed open. Without thinking Laura grabbed the gun kept within easy access (of her, not the kids) and spun to face the door, expecting a threat. She hesitated just long enough to realize that Oh God that's Clint and flipped the safety back on. She let the gun fall back to her side and looked at the woman with her brother curiously, completely trusting his judgment. If he thought he could bring the redhead in for whatever reason, then she had to be safe. "That's Nat," he managed to get out, before he (walked dragging his feet) over to the couch and allowed himself to collapse on it. "Nat… Natasha Romanov?" Laura asked, somewhat in awe. "The Black Widow." "Clint never mentioned having a… family," she said. She chose her words carefully, Laura noticed, spoke slowly. She probably didn't want to just assume that they were married or something. "I'm his sister," Laura informed her with a smile. The slight tension in Natasha's shoulders relaxed a bit. "I hope you girls aren't swapping rumors about me," Clint called from his spot, unwilling to move. Laura and Natasha immediately exchanged devious grins and did exactly that. Well, kind of. Instead of rumors, they swapped embarrassing stories featuring Clint. (They went there after a bad-er-than-usual mission, to recoup (recuperate).)

 

After that, Natasha became a regular visitor to the Barton household. More often than not, Clint was toting her along on his visits home. To Cooper, she quickly became Aunty Nat, after he woke up and ran downstairs for breakfast to find a strange redhead who his mom (Laura) introduced as "a friend of Daddy(Clint)'s." She and Laura were quick friends, to Clint's horror.

Nine months later, the door flew open again. Laura approached the front cautiously with her gun after rushing Cooper up the stairs and telling him to stay there, goddammit, as Clint had taught her. One could never be too careful, he always said. The sight that met her almost caused her to drop the gun though. Almost, because of Clint's countless warnings that it could go off and shoot anyone. Natasha was leading the pair of them to the living room slowly, supporting Clint's weight almost entirely with one of his arms over her shoulders and hers around his back. Which, while he wasn't very tall, he was pretty sturdy, so Laura immediately ran over to help. She eased herself under Clint's other arm, his left arm, his dominant arm, and the two of them carried him to the couch together, where he collapsed. Laura got her first good look at him. He looked lost almost, scared, his eyes darting everywhere, trying to take everything in all at once but at the same time not lingering his gaze anywhere long enough to take in anything. He was slouched, curling in on himself, like he was trying to hide. He looked more vulnerable than Laura had ever seen him. And... There was blood. Of course there was blood, there always was. But it was coming from his ears. "Oh god," she whispered in horror, glancing at Natasha for confirmation. She nodded grimly. A noise, coming from the top of the stairwell, caught the girls' attention. Cooper was watching through the railing. Without any prompting from Laura, Natasha made her way up the stairs to talk to Cooper, leaving the siblings alone. Laura hugged her brother tightly, offering him comfort, like he'd offered her so many times. And she couldn't help but think. Of what Clint had told her, that when he was seven, their dad had hit him in the ear, his left ear, and he couldn't hear anything for a day. His hearing returned as he recovered, but he hadn't been able to hear his dad coming up in the middle of another drunken rage, hadn't been able to hear Barney's warnings, and while he was alright, he had never been so terrified. He had trained himself to rely more on his eyesight since, in case it happened again, but that moment stayed with him. And now, it was happening again. Except this time, it wasn't going away. "Laura?" she heard, slightly too loud, and she jumped. It's just Clint, she reminded herself. She looked up. "What- what's going on? Why is it so quiet?"

She opened her mouth to respond before she remembered. She just squeezed him even tighter for a moment before she got up to get a notebook and a pen, holding up a single finger as she left. One minute. When she got back with the proper utensils, she cuddled up to her brother reassuringly. After a moment of thought, she decided to just get it out – even though he did it all the time, Clint hated when other people tried to edge around the topic. So she wrote, in small letters, You're deaf.

When she handed it to Clint to read, he grabbed for it, desperate for any sort of explanation. After he read it, a few times, Laura could tell, he turned to her. His expression was stunned, his mouth trying to ask questions he didn't know how to say. Finally, he asked, "Temporary, or....?" He let the question hang in the air.

Laura reached over and took the notepad. Not sure, she wrote. They just sat there for a while, together. 

Three months later, they adopted another kid, this one one that Clint came across on one of his missions. She was cowering underneath a table when Clint found her. Her parents were dead, apparently, and she was living in the streets. At the tender age of four years old. Clint immediately picked her up and promised that he would take care of her. Her name was Lila. Not long after, everything with the Tesseract and Loki happened.

Around this time, his sister started seeing someone, too. Stress dating, or something, so she told him. Two and a half years later, he accidentally knocked her up and left as soon as he found out. Laura called Clint and told him what happened. She was freaking out. Clint calmed her down, though. "We'll handle this," he promised her. "Together. Like always."

**Author's Note:**

> Previous notes: (I imagine that Clint joined the circus when he was nine, so he would've been 19 at the point that he re-met Laura. Laura was 14 at this time, so she started at four.)  
> Notes: Hope this gave you the feels. It was fun to write. I personally prefer Uncle/Daddy!Clint to I-married-someone-and-have-kids-goodbye-shippers!Clint.  
> And GODDAMIT JOSS YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO US!!!
> 
> Now: Like I said, not finished. I want to do something with the Age of Ultron scene, but I'm not sure how to approach this. I'll be honest too, I just wrote the first couple of lines in the last ten minutes, to replace the summary block that i was planning when I first started this. It just kind of evolved itself. I gotta get back into the feel of writing this before I can do anything I deem satisfactory enough, but I'm also in college now, and as all is planned to go I won't have a semester off until I graduate. When I have time, I shall. Definitely gonna change the end of what I currently have too, it feels rushed, not good. Anyways, sayorana!


End file.
